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Home -> Community -> Mailing Lists -> Oracle-L -> RE: financial problems with fatcity.com
Hmm, lemme try again.
S*u*b*s*c*r*i*p*t*i*o*n service is definitely not an option.
Neither Bruce or I can manage something like that.
Jared
On Wednesday 29 August 2001 12:35, Jacques Kilchoer wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
>
> >Alex, that is an excellent idea! I second that notion.
>
> "doh.state.fl.us"? Does that University count Homere Simpson amongst its
> proud alumni?
>
>
> Please excuse the long e-mail, but since the suggestion has been made to
> make this a "subscription" list, I will share some of the issues that I am
> grappling with (along with others) as part of a volunteer moderator at an
> internet message board, where we are currently debating a fee-based message
> board instead of free membership.
>
> My personal opinion (though of course this would be Mr. Still and Mr.
> Bergman's decision) is that having a "subscription" list would be very hard
> to manage. If someone who has provided valuable responses (e.g. a Steve
> Adams) doesn't pay his fee, do you immediately unsubscribe him from the
> list? Do you prevent him from posting an answer? What's the grace period
> for non-payment of fees? Would there be a trial period, or would you have
> to pay before you can even see what the list is like? Paying before you can
> see the content would diminish new membership, and new membership is
> essential to the survival of a list such as this one. If you have a free
> introductory period, I could sign up with a different "free" e-mail (e.g.
> hotmail) every month and never pay. Only the "honest" people would pay,
> which would end up being the same as asking for voluntary donations.
> Another issue - how many people would go try out another "free" list?
> Charging a fee may mean the demise of this list. I think that the list is
> worth a modest fee, but what percentage of the membership will think so?
> What if a person has paid for membership, but is posting messages
> disruptive to the list (e.g. spam or insults.) Do you refund their fee when
> you remove them from the list? Do they have more rights as a "paying
> customer"? How about the archives? Would you have to pay to see them? What
> about people that always ask questions, but never answer any? Would they be
> charged more? Would some of our "experts" become resentful since they are
> paying Mr. Bergman and giving out more information than they are receiving?
> I can very well imagine a person thinking "why should I give out free
> answers when Mr. Bergman 'profits' from my expertise?" (Of course I realize
> that there is very little, if any, 'profit' involved, but some people may
> not be convinced of that.)
>
> These are all difficult questions that would be faced by the person
> maintaining the list. Without charging enough to make the list profitable,
> it might not be worth the headache.
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-- Please see the official ORACLE-L FAQ: http://www.orafaq.com -- Author: Jared Still INET: jkstill_at_cybcon.com Fat City Network Services -- (858) 538-5051 FAX: (858) 538-5051 San Diego, California -- Public Internet access / Mailing Lists -------------------------------------------------------------------- To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message to: ListGuru_at_fatcity.com (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB ORACLE-L (or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).Received on Sat Sep 01 2001 - 15:04:40 CDT
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